Animal rights advocates say they freed mink at Oregon farm

The Animal Liberation Front (ALF) is claiming responsibility for releasing 40 mink Monday from a fur farm in Jefferson, Ore., and for destroying the farm's breeding records.

In a communiqué released Tuesday evening, ALF said the mink might face a tough road away from the farm but that it was better "to die free" than at the hands of captors. It also warned that the sabotage would continue unless the owners of the Jefferson Fur Farm shut down their operation.

But Fur Commission USA, which represents fur farms, reported Tuesday that all the mink were recovered and returned to their pens.

The sabotage was announced by the North American Animal Liberation Press Office in Los Angeles and attributed to ALF-Cascadia. The communiqué struck a defiant tone against federal efforts to track down and prosecute alleged members of the underground cells:

"We want to make it very clear that we will not be intimidated by the state's continued witch hunt against the Earth and animal liberation movements."

Fur Commission USA said that the FBI and local law enforcement were investigating the incident.

"Farmers around the country have been advised to double-check their security," stated Teresa Platt, executive director of Fur Commission USA, a nonprofit trade association representing mink farmers in 28 states raising 3 million mink a year.

Platt, citing U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics, said 18 Oregon-based farms produced 254,400 mink pelts valued at more than $12 million at auction in 2007.